The Last Dog on Earth
By: Adrian WalkerRating: 3 Star
Adrian Walker's debut novel 'The End of the World Running Club' was one of my favourite books of 2016 so I was delighted to get an early copy of his new title 'The Last Dog on Earth' for review via NetGalley.
The Last Dog on Earth is set in London in the not too distant future.
Its main characters are Lineker, the faithful and world-weary dog and former electrician Reginald. They live together in a nearly deserted London.
Throughout the book, there are various references to the events that led to London being attacked and then largely abandoned. However, the reader is deliberately kept guessing about the full picture.
With the wider story so mysterious, we're left to focus on the relationship between Lineker and Reginald. Reginald is another perfect 'anti-hero role', similar to Edgar from The End of the World Running Club, in that he has many flaws and several of his actions in the novel may actually cement your dislike of him entirely.
Lineker shares his thoughts and feelings with us directly throughout the book, and the plot jumps between sections told from the human's point of view and other's from the irascible Lineker.
The combination of Reginald and Lineker felt very original, and the universe that Walker creates in the book is both tragic and very believable.
Walker, via Lineker, has a lot to say (with much swearing) about humans and conflict and whilst the points were well made it did slow down the plot and overall enjoyability of the novel for me leaving to me rate it high 3.
With the wider story so mysterious, we're left to focus on the relationship between Lineker and Reginald. Reginald is another perfect 'anti-hero role', similar to Edgar from The End of the World Running Club, in that he has many flaws and several of his actions in the novel may actually cement your dislike of him entirely.
Lineker shares his thoughts and feelings with us directly throughout the book, and the plot jumps between sections told from the human's point of view and other's from the irascible Lineker.
The combination of Reginald and Lineker felt very original, and the universe that Walker creates in the book is both tragic and very believable.
Walker, via Lineker, has a lot to say (with much swearing) about humans and conflict and whilst the points were well made it did slow down the plot and overall enjoyability of the novel for me leaving to me rate it high 3.
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing this book for review in exchange for an honest review.
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